The Softbank Hawks won their seventh Nippon Series Championship (1959, 1964, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2014, 2015). They are the fifth team to win Championships in consecutive seasons (Yomiuri, Nishitetsu/Seibu, Hankyu, Hiroshima, Softbank) and the first since Seibu won three in a row between 1990 and 1992.

Kimiyasu Kudo is the tenth manager (first in franchise history) to guide a team to a Nippon Series Championship in his first year, first since Norifumi Nishimura in 2010.

Mitsuru Manaka is the seventh manager to losing a Nippon Series Championship in his first year, first since Hideki Kuriyama in 2012.

Nippon Series MVP: Dae-Ho Lee

Lee is the eighth foreign player to win a Nippon Series MVP, first since Troy Neel in 1996.

If the Royals win the World Series, Softbank owner Masayoshi Son wants to challenge them to a match. Source: Sanspo 10/30/2015

The Hawks became the first time to use six different foreign players (Dae-Ho Lee, Dennis Sarfate, Edison Barrios, Rick van den Hurk, Jason Standridge, and Barbaro Canizares) during the Nippon Series. Source: Sanspo 10/30/2015

Softbank held the championship celebration in the underground parking lot of their hotel. They went through 3,000 bottles of beer, 480 bottles of cola, sixty bottles of sake, eight barrels of sake, and a magnum bottle of liquor in about twenty minutes during the celebration. Source: Sanspo 10/30/2015

A Hawks team celebrated in Tokyo for the first time since the Nankai Hawks in 1959. Source: Sanspo 10/30/2015

[UPDATE 10/31 @ 1:31pm]

Additional notes:

Six teams made it to the Nippon Series immediately following a last-place finish: 1950 Shochiku, 1960 Taiyo, 1975 Hiroshima, 1976 Yomiuri, 2001 Kintetsu, and 2015 Yakult. Only one of the six teams managed to win the Nippon Series: 1960 Taiyo. Rookie managers have twice made it to the Nippon Series after their team's finished in last place the year before: Takeshi Koba with Hiroshima in 1975 and Mitsuru Manaka with Yakult in 2015. Source: Sponichi 10/30/2015

Ten pitchers made appearances for the Hawks during the Nippon Series, all ten where right-handed pitchers: Shota Takeda, Rick van den Hurk, Jason Standridge, Dennis Sarfate, Edison Barrios, Yuito Mori, Kodai Senga, Tadashi Settsu, Kenichi Nakata, and Ryota Igarashi. Softbank did have three left-handed pitchers on the forty-man roster -- Masahiko Morifuku, Yuya Iida, and Shinya Kayama -- but they never got the change to pitch. The Hawks are the seventh team in NPB history to only use right-handed pitchers during a Nippon Series. The other six: 1952 Yomiuri (three pitchers), 1956 Nishitetsu (five pitchers), 1959 Nankai (five pitchers), 1972 Hankyu (six pitchers), 1975 Hankyu (four pitchers), and 1987 Yomiuri (nine pitchers). Of the six that used only right-handed pitchers, four won the Nippon Series: 1952 Yomiuri, 1956 Nishitetsu, 1959 Nankai, and 1975 Hankyu. Source: Nikkan Sports 10/30/2015

Dae-Ho Lee is the first player to collect eight RBI in a five-game Nippon Series. The previous record of seven was held by three players: Toshimitsu Suetsugu in 1971, Tuffy Rhodes in 2001, and Atsunori Inaba in 2006. Source: Sponichi 10/30/2015 ... Lee became the sixth player to lead the Nippon Series in RBI two years in a row (four RBI in 2014 and eight in 2015). The other five: Shigeo Nagashima (1965-67), Sadaharu Oh (1967-69), Suetsugu (1986, 1987), Koji Akiyama (1993, 1994), and Kazuhiro Kiyohara (1993, 1994). Source: Nikkan Sports 10/30/2015

The Hawks tied a franchise record with six different players hitting at least one home run during the Nippon Series so far this year. The record was set in 1966. Source: Sponichi 10/29/2015

Toru Hosokawa became the fourteenth player to go homerless during the regular season and hit a home run during the Nippon Series. Source: Sanspo 10/29/2015

Dae-Ho Lee collected four RBI in Game 4 against Yakult on October 28 and tied the franchise record for most RBI in one game. Kenji Jojima set the record in Game 2 of the 2000 Nippon Series. He became the fourth foreign player to record two modashos in one series, first since Terry Whitfield in 1982 (Games 5 and 6). The modasho in Game 4 was the third of his career. He tied Yoshinori Hirose's franchise record for Nippon Series modashos. He also became the just second foreign player to record at least three Nippon Series modashos. Wally Yonamine holds the record with four. Source: Sanspo 10/29/2015 ... Five hitters have led Nippon Series hitters in RBIs in two or more consecutive seasons: Shigeo Nagashima (1965-67), Sadaharu Oh (1967-1969), Tamio Suetsugu (1971, 1972), Koji Akiyama (1986, 1987). and Kazuhiro Kiyohara (1993, 1994). Lee led Nippon Series hitters with four RBI last year. He currently leads both teams with six RBI. Source: Sponichi 10/28/2015

The Hawks have prepared 3,000 bottles of beer, 480 bottles of cola, sixty bottles of sake, and four barrels of sake for their victory celebration. Source: Sponichi 10/29/2015

Yakult Swallows

Tetsuto Yamada hit home runs in three consecutive trips to the plate in Game 3 against Softbank on October 27. He joined Shigeo Nagashima (1970) as the only players in Nippon Series history to hit home runs in three consecutive trips to the plate. Nagashima hit his home runs across two games (11th inning in Game 3 and 1st and 3rd innings in Game 4), making Yamada the only player to accomplish the feat in one game. Tomoaki Kanemoto hit home runs in three consecutive at bats, with a walk sandwiched in between, in 2003 (6th inning, a walk in the 8th inning, and 10th inning in Game 4 and the 1st inning in Game 5). Yamada became the seventh player in Series history to collect five RBI in a game, first since John Bowker in 2012 (Game 1). Yamada and Katsuo Osugi (1978, Game 5) are the only players in franchise history to accomplish the feat. Isao Shibata (1963, Game 7) and Alex Cabrera (2004, Game 3) hold the record with six RBI in one game. Source: Sanspo 10/28/2015, Sponichi 10/28/2015, Nikkan Sports 10/27/2015, Daily Sports 10/27/2015 ... Yamada set a new Nippon Series record with twelve total bases in one game. The previous record of eleven was set by Isami Okamoto in Game 1 of the 1959 Nippon Series (single, double, and two home runs). Source: Sports Hochi 10/28/2015 ... Twenty-six players have hit two or more home runs in thirty-one Nippon Series games. Yamada became the sixth player in Series history to go hitless (four or more at bats) in the game after he hit two or more home runs. Source: Sponichi 10/29/2015

Yakult starting pitchers have yet to make it past the 5th inning: Masanori Ishikawa 4.0 innings, Yasuhiro Ogawa 4.2, Toshihiro Sugiura 4.1, and Shohei Tateyama 3.0. The Swallows are just the third team in Nippon Series history to go four or more games without a starting pitcher making it past the 5th inning. The other two: Nishitetsu in 1956 (Games 1 through 5) and Chunichi in 1982 (Games 1 through 6). Source: Nikkan Sports 10/29/2015

General

Only four teams have managed to win the Nippon Series after falling behind 3-1: 1955 Yomiuri, 1958 Nishitetsu, 1986 Seibu, and 1989 Yomiuri. Source: Sanspo 10/29/2015

The Swallows (four) and Hawks (two) combined for six home runs in Game 3. It was the sixth time two teams combined for six or more home runs in one Nippon Series games, first since 2009 (Nippon Ham with three and Yomiuri with three, Game 3). Source: Sponichi 10/28/2015

Kenichi Nakata is 12-7 in thirty-four games against the Yakult Swallows over his career. He will most likely start Game 3. Source: Sponichi 10/26/2015

Akira Nakamura's home run in the 6th inning of Game 2 was the 700th in Nippon Series history. Source: Sponichi 10/26/2015

Continuing from last year's Nippon Series, the Hawks have won their last six series games. The Hawks have never trailed in any of the six games. Source: Sponichi 10/26/2015

The Hawks stole three bases in the 1st inning of Game 2 and became the fifth team in series history to steal three bases in one innings, first since Yomiuri in 1968 (Game 1). Source: Sponichi 10/26/2015, Jiji Press 10/25/2015

Rick van den Hurk recorded a victory in his first Nippon Series game on October 25. He is the just the fifth foreign pitcher in NPB history to win his first regular season start and Nippon Series start in his first year. The other four: Peter Burnside with Hanshin in 1964, Rich Gale with Hanshin in 1985, Terry Bross with Yakult in 1995, and Hayden Penn with Lotte in 2010. He is the first to also win his first Climax Series game. van den Hurk is the sixth pitcher to pitch in a Nippon Series game after recording at least five wins and a winning percentage of 1.000 during the regular season. He and Masahiro Tanaka are the only two that also won their Nippon Series games. Source: Nikkan Sports 10/26/2015

Everyone in the starting line-up recorded at least one hit in Game 1. It was the tenth time in series history every hitter in a starting line-up recorded at least one hit. The offense also recorded six consecutive hits in the 4th inning of Game 1. It was the fifth time in series history a team recorded hits in six or more consecutive at bats in one inning, with Chunichi leading the way with seven in 2007 (Game 3, 1st inning, including one sac hit in between). The 2003 Daiei team also recorded hits in six consecutive at bats (Game 2). The hits in six consecutive at bats came without any sac hits, sac flies, walks, or hits batsmen in between. 2003 Daiei (Game 2, 2nd inning) and 2005 Lotte (Game 2, 6th inning) are the only other teams in series history to record six consecutive hits. Source: Sponichi 10/25/2015, Sanspo 10/25/2015

Shota Takeda won the first game of the series and at twenty-two years and six months, became the fifth youngest pitcher to win a Game 1. The youngest was Kazuhisa Inao at twenty years and four months in 1957. Takeda did become the youngest to win a Game 1 in franchise history. The previous record of twenty-four years and one month was set by Tadashi Sugiura in 1959. The win was Takeda's second in as many Nippon Series games. Only three other pitchers in franchise history recorded wins in their first two Nippon Series games: Ichiro Togawa (1955), Sugiura (1959), and Toshiya Sugiuchi (2003). Source: Sponichi 10/25/2015 ... Takeda recorded a comlete game victory in Game 1. He is the third youngest pitcher in franchise history to record a complete game victory. The two other pitchers: Taketoshi Ogami at twenty years and eleven months, 1953 Game 6; Toshihiro Hayashi at twenty-one years and six months, 1965 Game 4. Source: Nikkan Sports 10/25/2015

Seiichi Uchikawa could end up missing the Nippon Series games because of two rib fractures (seventh and eighth on the left side) that will require about three weeks for a full recovery.

Uchikawa suffered the injury when he crashed into a wall while chasing down a fly ball in foul territory during the first game of the Final Stage of the Climax Series on October 14. He made it through the Climax Series and was even participating in workouts after the Final Stage, but the pain got worse the night of October 23. The fractures were discovered when he was examined today.

Uchikawa is unable to swing the bat right now. There is a good chance he could miss the entire series.